We seek to achieve this goal through grassroots organizing,
public education and political action.

The mission of the Task Force was
originally to defeat anti-same-sex marriage legislative bills
A.2193 and
S.1376.
After a few months, we realized that our efforts would be essential on a
continuing basis regardless of what happened to A.2193 and S.1376 so the name
was changed to the TASK FORCE for SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.

This plan was fortuitous since after
many years of pending bills
beginning with the 1996-1997 legislative session, anti-same-sex marriage
legislation is once again
reintroduced as A.460 with the current New Jersey legislative
session. These bills are designed to amend New Jersey law regarding marriage by
adding, "Persons of the same sex shall not marry." They further state that such
marriages "solemnized in any other country, state or territory… would be
prohibited and declared void in this State..."

The bills
include a section
stating, "Marriage between persons of the same sex is against public policy of
the State of New Jersey."

The current case involving several
same-sex couples challenging the State of New Jersey for the right to obtain a
marriage license is in its early stages in court. The outcome of the lawsuit is
unknown as the case may take several years before a final decision is rendered. Of
course, all sides are questioning the impact of the case on same-sex civil
marriage and domestic partnership benefits.

If you would like to help with this
effort in support of Same-Sex Civil Marriage, you can find a
petition with a growing list of individuals and
organizations signing statements of support and authorizing the use of their
names in the effort.

The New Jersey legislative bills
referred to here can be obtained through the
New Jersey Legislature by entering
the bill number and legislative session seen above.